Going Hollywood at Joseph Abboud

How a Madrid-born, London-trained fashion designer is bringing new life to classic American menswear.

BY Matthew Breen

July 13 2012 4:00 AM ET

Bernardo Rojo backstage at the Joseph Abboud Fall 2012 fashion show.

“I see all these young actors and they are beautiful people, but some of them look like they just rolled out of bed,” he says. “They try to look messy. I don’t really understand it. Even if you are going for a coffee wearing jogging pants, you should try put them on in a way that looks decent—not for anybody you might bump into, but just for yourself.”

Quick to dismiss notions that the multibillion-dollar fashion industry is at all frivolous, he also evangelizes for the tangible effects of paying attention to one’s appearance.

“Clothes are very important because they show your mood. They are a message to people, the image you want to convey,” he says. And not a little of his advice is aimed at the sweat-suit set: “If you have a down day, you dress up and go of the house. You’ll feel better.”